If you are laser-focused on your Internet marketing education, you’ve bought a ton of information products. You paid cold, hard cash for books, CDs, courses in 3-ring binders…which are now sitting on your bookshelf, unused and gathering dust.

What I’m going to tell is a secret to get the most value out of the information products you already purchased. Using this secret is important for one simple reason…

You already paid your money for these products!

Let’s start with why you bought these courses in the first place. At some point, you started looking for a solution to a problem. The problem was your lack of knowledge on a specific topic. As an example, let’s say you wanted to learn how to make money using online videos.

Eventually, through a forum post or a Google search, you found a possible answer. Since we’re talking about products likely created by information marketers, the answer to your problem was most likely a piece of sales copy. Perhaps it was a long-form sales letter telling you all about the benefits of a course on money making videos.

As you read the sales letter, it did its job. In fact, I’m certain it did its job since you bought the product! Perhaps just a single sentence or bullet point compelled you to action. With a burst of dopamine, you hit the “Order” button and whipped out your credit card – all the while imagining putting all your new knowledge into dollar signs.

Then what happened? Maybe you actually read through the course or book one time. Perhaps you even implemented some of what you learned (good for you!) But maybe while waiting for the product to arrive, you bought another product which you found more interesting. It’s possible you got busy with something else and simply forgot about it.

Whatever the reason, you only learned and implemented a small part of what you paid for. Or you did nothing with it at all.

Talk about a waste!

So what’s the secret to avoiding this waste of money? This secret is so simple I was shocked when I discovered it. Ready for it?

The secret is: When you buy an information product, print out a copy of the sales letter which originally caused you to purchase it. Then put it with the product. If it’s a 3-ring binder, you can stick the sales letter in the very front using a 3-hole punch.

The next step is also important. Once a year, go through all the courses sitting on your shelf, and read the sales letters you’ve put with each product.

As you read each sales letter for the products you already own, I’m willing to bet the sales copy will still do its job. You’ll remember why you got so excited about buying the product in the first place. You’ll once again feel the desire to learn the secrets described in each bullet point.

As with the first time you read the sales letter, you’ll find yourself imagining putting all your new knowledge into dollar signs. But instead of doing nothing, you will follow through this time around and actually use the product.

In short, this technique will help you “buy” the product you already bought, and actually read and use the information. You can do this same technique with all the courses you’ve bought in the past. With a little work, I’m sure you can track down all the original sales letters. Even if you can’t find the original letter, a new version of the sales copy will work just as well at “selling” you again.

Try this secret in your next purchase. Or try it with a course you purchased in the recent past. Read the sales letter after you bought the product, at least once a year. You’ll find yourself “sold” again on why it was a good purchase. Then read the information and take action. An instead of gathering dust, you’ll get every dime out of your investment.

Ryan McGrath is a direct response copywriter, and an expert in helping companies increase sales and gain publicity. He currently works in two niches, information marketing and financial newsletters. Visit his blog at www.theryanmcgrath.com.